MOULTRIE, Ga. — This March, the Moultrie Observer will commemorate Women’s History Month with a series of articles showcasing women entrepreneurs and business owners in our community. 

The first of this five-part series features Kim Yarbrough, owner and founder of Indigo Studio, which celebrated its grand opening in late February. In addition to offering multiple yoga classes throughout the week, teachers at Indigo Studio hold art classes for both adults and children, and the space serves as a gallery for local art (including work by Kirby Gregory, Tom Bishop, Madye Carter, and Yarbrough herself). 

We were glad for the opportunity to sit down with Yarbrough and have a conversation about her journey to become a small business owner. In this interview, she describes her challenges and her successes, shares her perspective on work-life balance, and provides a bit of advice to aspiring entrepreneurs. 

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Please describe your business and how it started. 

Indigo Studio is a yoga and art studio with a small gallery space for local artists. We offer yoga and art classes for children and adults throughout the week, and on Saturdays too.

Indigo came about because I was growing weary of my current work environment, and I was ready to become my own boss. Around the same time, I made the decision to earn my yoga teacher certification, and I started thinking, this could be a business.  

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What sorts of challenges have you faced bringing this business into being?

Working on the back end, that is, the business side, has been really challenging – trying to navigate through the local and state licensing processes, getting the LLC certification, and so forth. 

The studio’s grand opening was last week. Now that I’m open, I see the challenge of spreading the word about the benefits of yoga, since it’s a practice from a different cultural tradition. 

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What are some of the positive aspects of owning your own business?

Not having staff meetings! Though really, the best thing is the flexibility to take care of my son. If he is sick, I can go get him. I don’t have to ask permission to leave work. I don’t have to take sick leave. I can work my schedule around his school schedule so that I can pick him up. 

Being able to set a schedule and run a business around my family has probably been the greatest reward. It’s also wonderful being able to do something that I love, and make it my own. 

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Have you faced any challenges achieving the fabled work-life balance? 

Well, that’s a good question. They say that entrepreneurs or business owners work 24 hours a day. It was difficult in the beginning, because I was working seven days a week to get ready for the business to open. I had to make arrangements for someone to keep my son, for my husband to make dinner. 

Now, though, I’m able to work just one night per week. I’m only away from my family the one night when I teach a late yoga class. I have other instructors who are able to instruct on other nights.

I do have to make myself put the laptop away, sometimes. I have found that I must designate a time to do virtual work, so that it doesn’t take up family time.

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Setting boundaries between work and home is certainly vital, and it’s something that our culture struggles with at times. Now, looking back, what would you have done differently when starting your business? I know that Indigo Studio just opened a few weeks ago, but I’ll pose the question anyway.

I think that I would’ve reached out for more help on the business side of things. I did a lot of research myself and tried to do everything online myself – getting certified, filing tax documents, and so on. It took me a couple of months to get in a place where I was ready to reach out for help.

I ended up getting a mentor from SCORE (an organization that provides free and confidential advice to small business owners) who was able to help me. I also went through the Small Business Development Center, which is provided through UGA. They have a program that’s free for people who are starting a business or are business owners. They were able to help me tremendously. I wish I had done that sooner – I wish I had not tried to do everything on my own.

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In your opinion, does being a woman allow you to bring a unique perspective to your work and your business?

Oh, absolutely. Because I’m able to empathize with women who have families, who face the challenge of their daily schedule – everything that they have to go through with their jobs, and at home, and with the kids. I’m able to empathize with the distress and anxiety that many women experience daily as the main caregivers in the household.

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There’s a lot of silent struggle. Throughout the journey of starting your own business, who have been your biggest supporters?

Definitely my husband, for one. He got more than he bargained for when I started this business! He thought he was just gonna sit back and offer moral support. I ended up using him every weekend to help me move items to the studio, help me paint the walls. He became my manual labor partner, the one who helped me get everything done, physically.

The rest of my family and friends have been so supportive, too. I had people show up on opening day, and they brought plants, they brought cards, they brought little things for me to decorate the studio with. Folks are sharing my Facebook posts and spreading the word about the studio. Family and friends have been the most supportive group that I could have imagined – I’m so grateful for them.

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What makes your business special or unique?

Well, we are the only yoga studio in Colquitt County. We’re the only yoga studio for about 35 miles or so – Thomasville has the next closest studio. Furthermore, we are one of the two places in Colquitt County that offers art classes for children and adults.

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What advice would you give to girls or women who aspire to become entrepreneurs?

If you have an idea, go for it. Try it out. 

Do your research, then reach out for help through the Small Business Development Center or through SCORE. They are there to answer questions, to help you create a business plan, and to tell you if your business is viable.

Whatever idea you have, don’t sit on it. Because if you wait, someone else might have that same idea and they’ll beat you to the punch. 

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Empowering advice. And what are some of your favorite things to do outside of work?

I love to be outdoors with my family, I love to travel, and I love the water. So whether we’re going to a lake or to the beach, I’m happy. 

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What is on the horizon for your business?

We are partnering with some local businesses to bring some special yoga events to Colquitt County. Also, I’m hoping to create some new programs, and something else that’s not offered anywhere in our county – a personal relaxation space.

This would be a sensory-neutral space, with different kinds of personal relaxation equipment. Heated towels, weighted blankets, a massage machine – ideal for someone who doesn’t like to be touched – along with foot massagers, soothing music, a variety of resources. 

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Indigo Studio is located at 128 South Main Street in downtown Moultrie. For more information, call Kim Yarbrough at 229-848-1895, or visit the Studio’s website at http://indigostudioandgallery.com/. This business may also be found on Facebook and Google Maps.